The Wild Bunch is very much about encouraging the people of Frome to engage in wildlife-friendly practices in whatever outdoor space they can access. From a pot by the front door, planted up with pollinator-friendly flowers, to gardens of all shapes and sizes, our outdoor space can make a difference. “Together, the UK’s gardens are larger than all of our National Nature Reserves combined, making them as important for wildlife as they are for our own wellbeing.” (Wildlife Trusts).
But how wildlife friendly are our gardens? One way to measure this is to take part in the Wildlife Trusts Wilder awards. If you meet the requirements of the Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Team Wilder Gardening in Somerset survey, an online self-assessment survey, they will send you an award! It’s not about patting yourself on the back – more advertising the practice of wildlife-friendly gardening to your neighbours – and perhaps inspiring them to get involved too. It also gives the trust information about the quantity and locality of wildlife-friendly gardens in Somerset.
The Somerset Wildlife Trust website offers gardening advice on a whole array of subjects, from how to create a container garden for wildlife to how to build a bat box or how to plant a tree. It is a comprehensive list of wildlife-friendly garden activities for a variety of outdoor spaces. And of course, we at the Wild Bunch have plenty of information and knowledge to share.
For those without outside space or who would like more space, Frome has several community gardens that would all welcome volunteers! I am involved with Broadway Community Garden accessed from Oakfield Road) where you can get involved with growing fruit and vegetables and also encourage wildlife. If you would like to get involved with wildlife gardening you would be very welcome to join us. We meet on Sundays 10am to 12pm and Wednesdays 2pm to 4pm.
The next Wild Bunch gathering is being held on Thursday 23 April at 1.30pm at the town hall, where we will discuss sowing and planting flowers for pollinators. More about Somerset Wildlife Trust is at https://www.somersetwildlife.org/.
